Easy guide for taking great puppy advert images
Taking adorable images of your puppies sounds easy, right? Well, there’s a reason people tell you not to work with animals.
Small little puppies are too small to know how to follow every command. They often have short attention spans, so you’ll be dealing with short bursts of lots of energy.
We’ve put together some tips for taking amazing puppy advert photos to make sure you’re getting great shots.
How to give your puppies the best chance of selling
20 tips for taking adorable puppy advert images
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1. Be patient
You might need to give your litter of puppies a chance to explore before getting into photographer mode!
It might take some time to get the right photos of your litter, and that’s ok! Being patient with the process means you’re more likely to get great images.
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2. Be prepared
Having plenty of toys, treats or water nearby can help keep your puppies engaged in what you’re doing.
It also means you’ll be able to get more variety in your photographs of the puppies. You’re more likely to capture great diverse shots with a variety.
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3. Use natural light
Young puppies are often timid and quite shy, using a flash can scare them. It also doesn’t capture the best look for your puppy often.
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4. Have an assistant help out
Having a second pair of hands always helps out when you’re trying to set up great puppy photos.
They can quickly run in and out of shots while you stay in position ready to take amazing puppy shots.
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5. Lower yourself to the puppy’s eye level
You’ll get to see a lot more details if you come down closer to their eye level. It means you get to capture all the adorable puppy features that a photo taken from above might miss.
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6. Consider using a long lens
If you lay on the ground too close, they’ll think that it’s an opportunity to play and will start to climb all over you. This can be a good thing as you might get some great puppy images.
However, you’ll mostly get distracted puppies, so using a long lens allows you to be on their level but from further out.
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7. Be open to images
You might have an idea going in of the perfect puppy shot, but it might not end up working out. And that’s ok!
Having an open mind means you might capture great dog shots that you never considered. Ones that really show how adorable your little puppies really are!
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8. Ask for the puppy’s attention for short periods of time
A puppy can get bored very quickly. Just like a toddler, you’re likely to get much better results if you only ask for attention for a short period of time.
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9. Keep still to avoid blurry photos
This might seem obvious, but a good photo is one that’s not blurry. One where you can actually fully make out the details of the puppy.
If you’re moving about trying to chase your puppies in the garden, the images are more likely to be blurry. And less high quality.
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10. Don’t forget about the background!
Many people forget about the background when taking photos. Making sure that your background is clear and tidy helps give a positive impression of the puppy’s home.
Images that were taken outside in a garden work really well as they show your puppy is happy to explore. They allow the puppy buyer to visualise owning your litter.
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11. Burst photos are your best friend!
This function on a mobile phone camera is great for fast-moving puppies. It means you can take lots of photos within a small period of time.
It also means you’re more likely to get great puppy shots as you’ll have a wider range to pick from!
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12. Review your photos before picking your favourites
Always look through the photos before uploading them to your puppy selling advert.
Make sure that each image you upload is of high quality and captures the adorableness of the puppy litter. Personality shots work really well!
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13. Consider using different modes with a phone camera
There are many different modes on mobile phone cameras that could help you capture the best image.
Things like ‘Pro’ help you capture higher quality images. Action or sports modes help make sure the image is less blurry.
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14. Props can be great!
We’ve seen lots of adorable puppy images where they’re playing in a flowerpot or snuggled on a cushion.
Another idea is to place something next to your puppies as a size reference to show how little they are.
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15. Try taking a high-quality video, and using a still
If you’re really struggling to get good images, consider taking a high-quality video. You can then take still images from most high-quality videos.
However, make sure your videos are good as nobody wants to see a blurry pixelated video still.
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16. Include photos of your whole litter
If a puppy buyer can’t see a puppy, then how can they fall in love with them?
Having images of the whole litter with a differentiator (like collared collars) helps buyers make decisions easier.
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17. Take photos of your puppies when they’re old enough
Taking images of the puppies when they’re old enough to move about and have fur helps show them off better.
Images that are taken when they’re old enough to move about mean you can show more personality. It also means that the puppies are fluffy and that a buyer will know exactly what they’ll look like.
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18. Use a different coloured background
Making sure your puppies are against a contrasting background will help them stand out.
Having dogs against the same colour background might mean that they blend into their surroundings.
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19. Portrait mode works best
Photos taken vertically tend to work best for dog shots. This is because more often than not, the dogs will be stood up.
Portrait images work best because they help your dog be the full focus of the shot. Allowing your puppy to stand out and make an impact. It also works best on social media too if you decide to promote your adverts there!
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20. Pay attention to how you’re holding the dogs in photos
Although you might need to intervene in some images to make sure the image fully captures your dog, pay special attention to the way you’re holding them.
Avoid holding dogs around their necks as this can give a negative impression to prospective puppy buyers.